The new Vinrac System is a modular rack made from recycled ABS plastic that can fit most bottle sizes including Champagne bottles, according to a press release by the manufacturer. The racks are assembled with a simple peg and hole system that can store three racks of four bottles. Sets of racks can be stacked on top of each other, but the company advises securing a rack to a wall when stacking sets higher than 3 feet. Details: vinrac.com

Wine Improvement, Inc. released its “Wine Smoothing Drops” for consumers who find their red wine a tad too bitter. The drops contain gum Arabic and gelatin and when a few drops are added to a glass of wine the result is less bitterness and “a smoother finish.” Details: wineimprovement.com

Nomacorc, the world’s largest producer of synthetic wine closures, has initiated new research projects with three world-renowned academic institutions. The programs will be performed at DLR Rheinpfalz in Germany, Centro Ricerca e Innovazione (CRI) in Italy, and the University of Zaragoza in Spain and will contribute to the ever-growing database that Nomacorc has built to evaluate oxygen’s role in wine development and winemaking processes. In conjunction with ongoing programs at the Geisenheim Institute in Germany and Pontifica Universidad Católica de Chile, these new research initiatives are expected to broaden Nomacorc’s knowledge on wine and oxygen interactions.

As the leading producer of wine bottles in the U.S., Verallia North America continues to innovate in its service flexibility. Verallia’s FlexRunSM Service, the first of its kind in the North American wine market, provides any winery, large or small, increased flexibility to run specialty bottles with limited investment. Whether adding a customized embossment to a stock bottle or creating an entirely new bottle design, it has never been easier to make shelf impact through custom glass design.

Astro-Cooler Products introduced its Astro-Quilt, a new insulation product for shipping. The new quilts are similar in design to the company’s insulating blankets but come with two layers of bubble insulation. The added material makes the quilt a good option for shipments headed into extreme conditions for extended periods of time. The quilt is effective for heat or cold. Details: astrocooler.com

The new Tunnel spraying technology by Clemens Vineyard Equipment, Inc., reuses spray drift to make vineyard spraying more efficient. Fluid that has not congealed is collected through a recycling system and filtered back into the tank. According to a statement by Clemens, the system results in 35-40% less chemical use, up to 99% less drift, is safer for the driver and better for the environment. Details: clemens-online.com

Critical Environment Technologies Canada Inc. released the YES IMS a new self-contained, indoor air quality monitoring system with ten sensor channels including relative humidity, temperature and up to seven additional gas sensors with a remote gas sensor. Options include a fixed wall mount or a portable desktop version with a wide range of sensors to chose from including particulates, electrochemical, semi-conductor and infrared. Details: critical-environment.com/yesims

The new ENV-Link-Mini wireless monitor by MicroStrain can support multiple sensor channels for environmental monitoring. According to a statement released by MicroStrain, the monitor supports four sensor channels in a weatherproof enclosure. Two channels for relative humidity and temperature can be complemented with a choice of other sensors including soil moisture, leaf wetness or others. Wireless communication extends up to 2km by line of sight and can run for up to five years on battery power. Details: sensorcloud.com

Scott Laboratories released a specialty yeast for the 2012 harvest. A product of the yeast hybridization program at the Institute for Wine Biotechnology at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa, Vitilevure Elixir has “moderate” nitrogen requirements and should ferment between 57-77 °F. Scott Laboratories touts the yeast as good for expressing terpenes, norisoprenoids and thiols to add complexity to aromatic varieties. Details: scottlab.com

Bottle maker Verallia North America is now offering its “Selective Line” for the premium wine market. The line includes Bordeaux and Burgundy bottles as well as other designs available in extra flint, extra black and other colors. The company also announced its new “FlexRun” service to provide wineries the option to run specialty bottles that could include custom embossment on a stock bottle or a new bottle design. Verallia claims it’s the first bottle maker in North America offering a “variable weight feeder” production line enabling it to manufacture two separate bottles simultaneously. The service is available in antique green, Champagne green, dead leaf green and flint. Details: us.verallia.com

(SOQUEL, CA. – September 5, 2012) SureHarvest and Altamont Technologies finalized their agreement to enable SureHarvest the rights to market, sell, and implement Altamont Technologies’ LandView mapping, field recordkeeping, and reporting system. The two entities have integrated SureHarvest’s Farm Management System and LandView applications to meet the market demand from growers, farm managers, field reps, and agriculture consultants to quickly and easily record and access their important information.

Enartis Vinquiry is pleased to announce its partnership with the Institut Català del Suro (IC Suro), the Catalan Institute for Cork in Spain. Earlier this year Enartis Vinquiry became the agent for IC Suro in the United States, expanding their cork quality evaluation services to include the pre-shipping control of cork lots coming from Spain, allowing wineries to screen selected cork lots before they are shipped to the US.

Monmouth, Oregon ~ Olsen Agricultural Enterprises announces that it will be discontinuing its Viridian wine. Olsen’s General Manager, Ben Hanna, announced this week that the decision to discontinue the wine was made for positive reasons: to focus resources into grape production. “We want to maintain our commitment to viticulture and our rich quality fruit,” said Hanna. Viridian’s Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris are distributed in more than 20 states and have been well received but the market has been a challenge for Olsen as it works to balance its large scale farming operations with the marketing of the Viridian Brand.

CellarPass, a wine tasting, tour and special event reservation service, is now offering “CellarPass Lite” a free version of its system for small wineries that may not be staffed seven days a week or only open seasonally. The service allows guests to make tasting appointments 24/7 on the winery’s website, track event availability and updates a winery’s guest database with every reservation. The web-based system does not require added software and provides secure and PCI-compliant access to reservation-related information from any web browser, iPhone or iPad. Details: cellarpass.com

Exporting wine to China via the direct-to-consumer channel is the subject of an upcoming seminar sponsored by eWinery Solutions. As wine consumption among Chinese consumers rises, so does their demand for imports of fine wine. "The China Opportunity" seminar brings panelists together to offer new ideas, insights, and solutions in how to market wines to and also educate a rapidly growing market of Chinese consumers.